In Home Care Givers

Nanny

You may decide that in-home or nanny care is best for your family. Finding a caregiver to provide quality care in your own home is different in some key respects from choosing a center or home child care provider.

  • To find an in-home caregiver, you can either use an agency or recruit candidates yourself.
  • A placement agency recruits, screens and sometimes trains candidates for in-home care. They may make both live-in and live-out placements. The agency charges a fee upon placement. Fees generally range from $250 to $1500.

You may locate a nanny or in-home caregiver on your own, through ads in local or college newspapers, community bulletin boards, and word of mouth from family and friends. Salary and benefits are negotiated directly with the nanny or caregiver. The family pays the nanny's salary which may be negotiated by the agency on the nanny's behalf, or by the nanny herself. Some families give their nanny use of a car. For a live-in nanny, a separate bedroom is required. The family is responsible to the IRS for paying Social Security and Medicare taxs and filing the appropriate forms.

Au Pair  

The following list below details some general characteristics of Au Pair arrangements:

  • Not a licensed form of care
  • Care provided in your own home
  • One caregiver per family
  • Caregiver usually hired through placement agency
  • Au Pair may or may not have child care experience
  • Live-in only
  • Care provided generally for up to one year (J1 Visa issued for Foreign Au Pairs is valid for only one year)
  • Full or part-day schedule options
  • Possible light housekeeping duties included in agreement
  • For Foreign Au Pair, weekly stipend provided by family, in an amount stipulated by the agency
  • Tax obligations (withholding, FICA, other IRS requirements)
  • Cultural exchange experience for both family and caregiver (for Foreign Au Pairs)

Considerations in Finding an Au Pair:

An Au Pair lives with a family, usually for a year, providing limited child care and sometimes light household help in exchange for room and board, a stipend, and the opportunity to experience life in your community and country. It is a specialized arrangement which requires you to consider not merely your child care needs, but your entire family's living arrangements.

  • Foreign Au Pairs are only available through an agency, which charges a fee for services (and can be quite expensive).
  • It may take up to a few months or more before a placement can be made
  • Federal taxes do not apply; state taxes may apply

Federal Regulations:

Au Pair

  • Are considered to be on a cultural-exchange program foremost
  • Provide child care for up to 45 hours per week.
  • Families are required to pay for the cost of one course (usually English language)
  • Are in the USA on a J1 visa only, which expires in one year
  • Live-in arrangement only, with a separate bedroom in your home

Questions to Consider:

  • Are you willing to plan ahead for the time it may take for a placement to be made?
  • Is your family open to sharing their home in what is primarily a cultural exchange arrangement, with child care as a secondary benefit?
  • Do you have a separate bedroom and enough space in your home to make an Au Pair arrangement comfortable?